Reading In-between The Lines
by theonlyasianchipwatermelon
Summary: We all know what happened at the end of the story. But have you ever asked yourself, "What happened in between?" "What happened afterwards?" Well here's my take on what happened, in between the lines.
1. Questions

***Disclaimer* _Most characters and the references made to the original story [excluding those Marin created based on her (scarce) imagination] rightfully belong to Higuchi Tachibana._**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

• _Three days after Mikan left the Academy_ •

The atmosphere in Class B was somewhat, duller. Everybody still went along with life, with some who already accepted faith and some who were still struggling to move on.

The class was never the same without Mikan, Hotaru, and Natsume. Mikan was already gone (some believed she will return), nobody knows where Hotaru went, and Natsume was hanging on the border line of life and death.

"I wonder how Mikan is doing," Nonoko sighed. Everybody cringed when Nonoko hit the word 'Mikan'. She immediately regretted it.

Yuu, gave a sad smile. "It's okay, we're all still uneasy."

Sumire was next. "What I'm wondering is how Natsume is gonna react when he finds her gone."

The small group of friends all agreed on Sumire's opinion. "He might burn the Academy to ashes," Koko joked, though it was more of a sad joke. A joke to lighten up the mood, yet to no avail.

Ruka shooked his head. "Being Natsume's best friend, I believe that he's gonna feel more of 'sad, anger and devastated' "

"Ruka's right, if anyone understands Natsume the most, it would be Ruka's," Yuu said.

"What about Hotaru? Where is she?" Anna popped in.

"Yeah! Where is she?" Sumire questioned.

Everybody gave sad shrugs, paired together with confused expressions.

"She disappeared on the same day as when Natsume supposedly died," Nonoko said quietly.

The friends' conversation was interrupted when their homeroom teacher, Narumi-sensei, walked into the classroom. Even he had a gloomy aura around him. Why wouldn't he?

The class immediately returned to their seats and quietened down.

Narumi-sensei turned to face the class, with a fake smile plastered across his face.

"Good morning class–"

The feminine teacher was interrupted when Koko raised his hand and asked,

"What happened to Hotaru?"

Narumi-sensei's face fell almost at once. He scratched his neck and stared at the floor, trying to avoid the eye contact of students who were hungry for answers.

"Well, you see, the reason why Natsume has a high chance of surviving, is because Hotaru, went back in time to change Natsume's fate, resulting in Hotaru...sacrificing her life."

Upon hearing the bone-crushing news, the atmosphere became more gloomy and lifeless than it ever was. Some students let out uncontrollable sobs of despair, knowing that another friend was lost.

"But don't worry, this does not mean she's dead," Narumi-sensei continued. "Hotaru and her brother is still alive, but they are lost in the time space."

This only answered one out of a million of the students questions.

When will Mikan be seen again?

Will Natsume be alright?

Can we save them?

Narumi-sensei decided that what his students needed the most was motivation.

"Children, never give up hope! We are working harder than ever to bring Mikan back! The more you believe, the higher the chances of Mikan returning."

"But she lost her memories!" somebody shouted.

The teacher raised his finger to his head. "In here," he said before moving his finger to his chest. "Not in here."

Sumire, tired of her teacher faking the attitude, yelled out, "Aren't you hurting too?"

Narumi-sensei looked at the distressed Sumire and gave her a sad smile.

"We all are."

 _ **A/N** : HAIII! Oke so this is my first ever Fanfiction so I am still pretty amateur. This story (for now) will mainly focus on the character's affected school life after the events in Gakuen Alice, chapter 177 (I cried lmao XD). It will switch between the life in the Academy, and Mikan's life as she struggle to find out what happened during those two years that she doesn't remember. The manga did not show much events that happened in Mikan's life during those four years so the events in this story are created and made up by me. _


	2. Waking Up To Harsh Reality

_**A/N:** A rather short chapter but I hope you will enjoy in :D. _

_**Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support in by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

• _A week after Mikan left_ •

Ruka, Yuu, Sumire, Anna, Nonoko and Koko all crowded around Natsume's hospital bed. It was their daily visit to Natsume.

Each one prayed really hard for there dark-haired friend to wake up. Hope was being lost slowly everyday and Sumire was on the edge of losing control.

"Geez! How long is this gonna take! I'm getting tired of waiting!" Sumire screamed. Her friends all tried to calm her down, knowing that behind her wall of anger, is a girl that might break down any moment.

"First Mikan, then Natsume, and now Hotaru..." Screams had turned into sobs. Koko placed a hand onto her shoulder and gave her a supportive smile. His invisible tears were on the edge of falling.

Everybody was so concentrated on Sumire, that nobody noticed the patient stirring.

"Mikan..." A half-awake Natsume muttered, barely audible.

"Mikan!" He shouted and sat up almost immediately. All of the friends turned their heads back to the patient, and relief flooded their faces. Even the nurse ran to inform their homeroom teacher.

"Natsume!" Ruka and friends all chorused in surprise.

"Are you okay?"

"Thank goodness!"

Natsume didn't look at anybody. He felt an overwhelming mixture of worry, disappointment, and fear. He panted hard and sweated like in a hot summer day though the air con was turned up high.

Excited chatter broke out amongst the visitors, and only Ruka watched over his best friend, his face showing sadness. It was almost too obvious what was going to happen.

"Where's Mikan?"

Silence roared like thunder in the room.

Everybody wanted to say something, but nobody could find the right way to phrase it.

"She lost her Alice, while trying to save you," answered Ruka quietly, making people cower, scared of what might happened next.

However, Natsume kept silent. It was as if he was prompting Ruka to continue.

And so he did.

"She was forced to leave the Academy, but not before her memories were erased."

Now that hit Natsume hard.

He rested his one elbow on the pillow on his lap, his face resting on his hand and covered his left eye.

He looked down to avoid everybody's gazes, yet they all knew that tears had already begun falling down.

"Mikan...how...why?" He muttered, absolutely devastated.

Natsume didn't feel angry. He felt guilty. He felt like a part of him had just been ripped off.

"Being dead is the same as having Mikan gone from my life," he recalled saying a long time ago, and how true it was.

"We're really sorry Natsume," Yuu sadly said.

By then, Narumi-sensei had arrived at the room. He guessed by the dull atmosphere that Natsume already heard of the news.

The teacher gave Natsume a warm smile. "Even though she lost her memory, I'm guessing she still has the feeling that she's loved somebody very, very much."


	3. New girl, new trouble

**_A/N:_** _In this chapter, we meet the younger sister of one of the original story's favourite sempai...read on to find out!_

 _ **Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support in by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 _•Three weeks after Mikan left•_

The class aura was better, but not as good as when Mikan was there.

It was Homeroom period as usual, and Narumi-sensei had not arrived yet.

Natsume resumed ignoring the whole world around him and sat by the windowsill everyday, staring out the window. You could sense that he wasn't as cold as before, but you could tell how dazed and lonely he was. Ruka continued to smile, but he felt useless since he couldn't do much for his broken-hearted friend. Natsume was more sociable though, he wouldn't shoot glares or give cold glances to anybody when they disturbed him (except if they angered him real bad), he would just stare at them with a bored look.

His good friends understood what he was going through, so they always gave him free space and did their best to cheer and support him. Everybody else that didn't know him well were too afraid to approach him, scared he might rip their spines out. In truth, Natsume simply felt like his world was cloudy and dull, now that his 'sun' was gone.

Narumi-sensei slid open the door with a loud 'bang!'. Even his cheerful attitude had returned, but not quite as bright as last time. The children took note of his arrival and returned to their respective seats, awaiting whatever news he brought. But to their surprise, instead of bringing news about their missing classmates, he brought a new one!

"Class, meet your new classmate, Tonouchi Ayami!" Narumi-sensei announced.

Half of the class cared, the rest, not so much. Natsume didn't even bother to look or listen, since it hadn't got anything to do with Mikan.

Ayami was a cute girl. She had long wavy black hair and purple eyes. She reminded them of a certain sempai...

A question popped up from the students. "What's her Alice?"

Narumi-sensei smiled. "Amplification."

The class erupted in murmurs. Their hunches were getting closer and closer.

Ayami had mixed feelings inside. She expected a bigger response to her arrival then that. She expected loud swooning and immediate confessions from boys. She would normally hear gushing and obvious admiration from the girls. Instead, she was hearing different things.

"Amplification? That's like the opposite of Mikan-chan's!"

"She like replacing Mikan! Grr..."

"I wonder what she's like..."

"Pretty cute to me."

"Mikan is way cuter."

Who was this Mikan she kept hearing about? Was she more popular than her? Where is she then?

Ayami had never encountered somebody more popular than her before. No matter where she went, people fell in love with her. She expected this so called 'special academy' to be filled with freaks and no popular gang at all. She mental slapped herself for thinking that. She was being very delusional it seemed...

Narumi-sensei banged his fist on the desk and cleared his throat, grabbing the children's attention.

"Anyway, we still have to decide where Ayami has to sit..." Pause. Thinking...thinking... "Alright! She can sit next to Natsume."

Ayami turned to the direction of where the teacher was pointing. Her heart did a 360 degrees flip. The dude was smoking hot. His facial expression looked similar to that of a serious model or something. His black spiky hair was to die for. And further more, right next to the cute dude was another guy that looked like a prince with his golden hair and attractive blue eyes. So. Cute. ( **A/N: Gosh I was trying to put myself in a super crazy fangirls shoes while writing this. It was quite funny actually** )

 _At least I get to sit next to a super cute guy_! Ayami squealed inside her head.

Ayami kept a calm and neutral face as she approached the boy. She knew that first impressions always counted. For this target, she decided to give off the 'calm-and-rational-but-super-cute-and-nice' style.

Ayami did a small bow while giving a small smile. "Hello! Please take care of me!"

Natsume let out a 'Hn'. He didn't even turn to acknowledge her! Ayami felt a vein popping. She glanced at the blonde guy and to her relief, he gave her an encouraging smile.

Ayami sat down and arranged her items and books as neatly as possible, wanting to impress the boys beside her. To her dismay, the boy barely blinked an eye. The boy's attitude was disgusting her more and more.

"So you're the famous Natsume Hyuuga? I've heard a lot about you!" Ayami chirped. "What's your Alice?"

Natsume scoffed. "You've heard a lot about me and yet you don't know my Alice? Where did you get your information? A pig?"

The same vein popped again as Ayami tried to remain composure.

Ayami let out a desperate laugh. "Oh Natsume! You're so funny!"

"Hn."

Sumire couldn't stand it. Watching that girl flirt with Natsume was utterly atrocious.

"That-that witch! Dow she think she can just go around marking her territory anywhere she wants? If I was Mikan, I'd beat the light out of her!" Sumire fumed. "And that Narumi! How dare he place her in Mikan's seat!"

Koko chuckled at the sight of a super-pissed-off Sumire. He looked towards Yuu who took occasional glances at Ruka and Natsume. Everybody knew that trouble was coming.


	4. It Still Too Early

**A/N:** This chapter is a bit out of place and useless but you finally learn who Ayami is! I might edit this chapter in the future cuz I really don't like how off-point it is

 _ **Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support in by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

 _~The day after Ayami arrived~_

Six friends barged into the Special Ability's classroom, much to the surprise of the Special Ability students. The atmosphere in the SA class room was just as terrible as Class B's.

They approached Tono-senpai and confronted him about the new student.

The older student sighed. "Ayami, eh? Well it's true that she's my younger sister." Pause. "But I'm not gonna lie, she's a total demanding brat."

Sumire's forehead creased as she muttered, "Knew it."

"Because I joined only in junior high, I knew my sister well enough. She was really popular, but she was the kind of 'mean popular' kid. She would go through heights to get what she wanted and she'll whine and cry when she doesn't. The worst part of all, she's really smart and cunning."

The group of children stayed silent throughout, except for Sumire because you just hear her mutter incoherent words.

"Funny thing is, despite how much I show her my dislike for her attitude, she seems to really love me. She cried the most when I was sent of to GA and begged me not to leave her."

"I guess vain people attract." Koko commented nonchalantly, not knowing (or he could have been pretending) how many veins Tono-sempai bursted because of him.

"So what're we gonna do with this Ayami?" Anna asked. The six children were now hanging around the garden, under the sakura tree, where Natsume and Mikan normally sat on the branches whenever they wanted to be alone.

"Nothing." Sumire folded her arms and an expression of 'no mercy' appeared on her face, as a well as a sinister smirk. "Even though I still despise Mikan for taking away my Natsume, I find it even more disgusting to see this wretched Ayami with Natsume!"

"So you're saying just wait until Natsume get's annoyed at Ayami and let him tell her off?" Koko mused.

"Where the heck did you assume that!" Sumire huffed and spat, annoyed at how he read her mind. "Even though its correct..."

Koko simply smirked and flew away. The rest of the gang (minus Sumire who was still fuming) sweat-dropped at the sight of Koko running away.

"I guess that could work—waiting for Natsume to snap, but what if it goes the other way?" Nonoko pondered. The rest understood what she was getting at; what would happen if Natsume actually turned to Ayami for comfort?

"I'll slap him silly!" Sumire snarled, every word seeping venom. Ruka could see hot air steaming out of Sumire's nostrils and ears.

"If Natsume turned to Ayami, then it just shows that he was never truly loyal to Mikan! And I would be extremely angered if he did that! Are you guys doubting their relationship?" For once, Sumire's anger was not that of the jealous and annoyed type, not the type of anger over petty things, but genuine anger. And even the rest could agree— Natsume had always loved Mikan, would he really turn over to somebody else?

The chances were not high, but it was not low either. If Ayami was that good of a seducer, or actually a nice person, how far would Natsume's loyalty go? But there was still one big problem that awaited...

"I don't know." Ruka's face was solemn and worried. "It hurts to see him in pain and lonely now that Mikan is gone."

Anna nodded in agreement. "Natsume has been isolating himself recently, and its quite painful seeing him so lonely."

"So you're saying give Ayami to Natsume?" Sumire questioned unbelievably.

"No i'm not! But if Ayami is actually nice and manages to win Natsume over, I think it would be better to let him be with Ayami then let him continue to be in pain and dwell on the past!" Ruka defended. "Although I think this plan should be of the last resort..."

Peacemaker Yuu sighed at the sight of the blooming argument. He decided to end the argument before it gets bigger.

"Well since none of us know what this Ayami is like, let's just wait and see and act only when things start to get out of hand. I mean, sure Tono wouldn't be lying but maybe she changed during the time Tono left."

Anna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, right now is too early to figure out what to do with Ayami especially since we just met her."

"Fine!" Sumire let out a frustrated puff of air. Ruka sighed and began walking towards the entrance of the school, the rest in tow.

"But it doesn't take an idiot to already figure out what kind of witch she is!"


	5. (PART 1) Mikan Meets New Life

**A/N:** We finally get to see how Mikan-chan is doing! Take note that the story will switch to Mikan every 5 chapters. Each Mikan chapter will have 1 to 2 parts so as to make up for the lack of chapters on Mikan's side.

 _ **Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support in by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**_

 _ **Extra Note: Does anybody know the name of Mikan's hometown? I tried checking the Wiki but it doesn't state :/ unless I am blind XC Anyway if you do, do tell me in the review section!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

~ _A week after Mikan arrived back in her hometown_ ~

"Are you sure you're ready to return to school?" Ojii-san asked Mikan.

Mikan smiled and nodded her head.

"It's okay, I'll be fine."

A week had passed since Mikan arrived back in her hometown. She woke up crying, back in her house, suddenly two years older, yet no memory of what had happened during those two years.

Mikan felt a bit empty; it was a week full of dreams about mysterious people who she had never met before. The mornings and nights were always the same; nights would be filled with strange dreams—dreams of herself with many unknown people. They seemed so real, but images would be blurry. Every dream would end with a boy dying in front of her, a girl leaving her and disappearing. And the most distinct and common person who would appear in her dreams would be the same boy who dies, and the same girl who disappears. The crimson red eyes would be the most prominent and clear image in her dreams.

In the mornings, she would wake up crying, for she felt so sad and lonely. The fact that she did not even know who were the people she dreamt about, made her even more sad and confused. Ojii-san would not even tell her a thing about her dreams, and so, Mikan was facing her mysterious dreams all by herself.

There was this one small fella who made her days brighter—a magical stuffed bear! Of course she never understood and was in utter shock when she saw it move, whenever she told people about it they would call her crazy and Ojii-San acted like it was normal!

Back to the present day, a week had passed and Mikan was finally starting school again. When she woke up to find herself two years older than she last remembered, the school year already began. Ojii-san gave her a one week break before she officially began school.

Mikan took a deep breath a kissed her grandfather on the cheek before taking a step into her new middle school. As she followed the teacher, she turned around and waved at her grandfather while grinning.

"See you later!" Mikan shouted, turning her head around continuously to look at her grandfather, before he eventually became a small silhouette.

The teacher lead Mikan to a classroom, with another teacher waiting outside.

"This is your homeroom teacher, Koyuki-sensei," the teacher who lead Mikan there introduced.

The young teacher who was waiting outside the classroom, Koyuki-sensei, smiled and greeted Mikan.

"Welcome, Sakura-chan! Let's get along well for the rest of the year!" Koyuki-sensei had chocolate-brown locks and gorgeous aquamarine eyes. She was petite and fair and young indeed.

"I'll leave you here with Koyuki-sensei." Those being his last words, the teacher passed Koyuki-sensei a few documents before walking away.

Koyuki-sensei and Mikan watched the teacher walk away.

"That's Saito-sensei. He's a bit antisocial so if he's a bit cold to you, don't mind him."

Mikan smiled and nodded at her new teacher. She liked her—warm and friendly.

Mikan followed the teacher into the class. She felt jittery and nervous.

 _Just act normal._

 _Just act friendly and smile._

Mikan continued staring at the ground.

"Class, today we have a new student joining us," Koyuki-sensei announced.

She could hear the class quieting down and beginning to whisper.

"Her name is Sakura Mikan and I would like all of you to welcome her."

The class was silent, until the sound of a clap resounded. And then another—followed by another. Before Mikan realised it, the whole class was clapping and cheering.

"Welcome Sakura-chan!"

Mikan looked up. The face that was once nervous and scared broke out into a wide smile.

"Please take care of me during my stay and I hope we can get along well!"

Mikan was back in high spirits. The cheering and clapping encouraged her a lot. She was starting to think that her new class was not that bad after all.

"Mikan, why don't you sit next to Izuki-kun?"

The brunette turned to look at where the teacher was pointing to.

Izuki had soft golden spikes and big green orbs. He looked friendly and calm.

Mikan walked towards the empty seat next to Izuki. After she settled down, homeroom began.

"Okay class, as you all know, our annual sports festival here in Kamuri will be arriving soon!" Koyuki-sensei announced excitedly. Even the students began to chatter amongst their friends.

Mikan felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable. Everybody in her class already had their small group of friends.

"The Kamuri Sports Festival is a pretty big event."

Mikan turned to the girl who had just spoken. She had soft orange hair and aquamarine eyes. She smiled at Mikan.

"I'm Rin Maehara, nice to meet you!"

Rin extended her hand to shake, Mikan in return, shook Rin's hand and grinned. "Let's be friends!"

"Quiet down class!" Koyuki-sensei clapped her hands and raised her voice to catch her students' attention.

"I know you are all excited, but now we will be going down to the courtyard and a few activities to see who has the best abilities in which category."

The classroom was immediately filled with the student's clatter as the scurried out of the classroom, bringing their PE clothes with them to go change.


	6. (PART 2) Mikan Meets New Life

**A/N: OMG IM SO SORRY THIS WAS UP LATEEEEEE. School just resumed here in SG so now I'm pretty busy. This chapter was supposed to be up wayyyy earlier but my iPad kept crashing whenever I tried to edit it so I had to wait til I could get my hands on the computer. Anyway here it is!**

 ** _Ps. Can you guess who the new student is?_**

 _ **Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support it by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**_

* * *

By the time everyone assembled in the courtyard, everyone had already changed into their PE shirt and pants.

Koyuki-sensei blew a whistle, signalling for the students to gather around her. Mikan, together with Rin, sat all the way at the back of the crowd.

"So Mikan-chan, which middle school were you originally from?" Rin asked quietly.

"Eh, just a small school in this town," Mikan replied.

"Huh? There's only one middle school in this town, this one."

"Sorry...I don't know myself...I don't remember," Mikan replied sincerely and sheepishly. Even she herself was confused.

Rin didn't continue asking. She could tell by Mikan's eyes how much she genuinely meant it.

"Ok class! Get into teams of three! We'll have a relay race to see who's the most suited!" The teacher announced. "You can discuss for three minutes before the start of the race!"

Rin and Mikan glanced at each other before smiling. Now all they need is another person in their group. The scanned the crowd of classmates to see who hadn't found a group yet. Out of the corner of Mikan's eye, she spotted Izuki. He stood on the side by himself.

"Does Izuki have any friends?" Mikan asked Rin. In response, Rin nodded her head.

"Izuki is that class president. He's pretty popular but he always isolates himself."

Without a warning, Mikan sped off in the direction of Izuki.

"Izuki-kun! Do you 'wanna join us? Me and Rin-chan?" Mikan exclaimed, surprising Izuki a bit by her openness.

After a few seconds of silence, Izuki shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head.

Mikan cheered and grabbed Izuki by the arm, pulling him over to Rin.

Rin, taking the initiative to act as leader, puffed up her chest and began to strategise. "Okay, by experience, I know Izuki is pretty well off at sprinting, so he shall be the last to pass the baton to, okay?"

Mikan beamed at her new friend. She had a natural leader instinct and was very friendly. However, she was curious how did Rin come up with a strategy to make Izuki last.

As if he could read her mind, Izuki answered her question. "Rin is in the girls' floorball team, acting as the strategist."

Mikan stared incredulously at Izuki, before grinning. "Oh! I see! Thanks!"

"Mikan-chan, are you good at sports?" Rin asked.

"Um, I guess?" Mikan replied sheepishly. "It was my best subject in elementary."

"Yosh!" Rin slapped a fist on the palm of her hand. "It's decided! I shall start off and pass the baton to Mikan-chan, and Mikan-chan will pass the baton to Izuki-kun who will finish!"

"Alright! Three minutes is up! First set of runners, come gather at the starting line!" Koyuki-sensei shouted. Rin immediately started jogging towards the starting line, with Mikan and Izuki in tow.

Mikan and Izuki positioned themselves at their respective places on the track.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

Beep!

At the sound of the whistle, Mikan turned and watched as Rin came sprinting towards her, baton in one hand. Before Mikan realised it, Rin reached out to pass her the baton. On instinct, Mikan grabbed it and sped off as fast as she could to Izuki. She could hear the cheers of Rin in the background.

Mikan thrusted the baton into Izuki's hand firmly, watching as he dashed away to the finish line.

"GO IZUKI!" Mikan screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring about the judgemental stares coming from her new classmates.

Mikan watched Izuki as he ran. That was when she realised he was in the lead!

Beep!

Koyuki-sensei's whistle blew as she signalled that one person already finished, and it was none other than Izuki.

Rin and Mikan cheered and ran up to Izuki, showering him with praises. Even the rest of the class, after they finished the race, came over to congratulate the team.

"Mikan-chan, you were really fast just now!"

"You guys did well! Congrats!"

In a moment, Mikan had already earned her place amongst her classmates. She didn't feel left out or awkward anymore.

Koyuki-sensei smiled at the sight of Mikan surrounded by her new classmates. At that moment, her cellphone began to buzz.

"Hello Koyuki-sensei, I am here to inform you of the arrival of a new student. She is arriving under the same circumstances as Sakura Mikan and under the name 'Shizuka Inoue.' Please meet me in my office as soon as possible to discuss the details."

"Noted, Principal."


	7. She Doesn't Know What She's Saying

**_A/N:_ Haiii! Welcome to chapter 6! I recently had a few school tests and I was planning to upload this earlier but couldn't due to lack of time with my sweet Delta (my iPad CX). **

_**Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support in by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

 _•A week after Ayami arrived•_

She tried everything. Absolutely everything. Yet they all ended with the same result.

- _ **Two days after Ayami arrived** -_

"Natsume-kun! What do you like to do as a hobby?" Ayami asked in the most neutral way possible during break. She knew every si

ngle type of guy. She knew that she had to use the most natural approach to get closer to Natsume Hyuuga, judging by the cool and silent aura he gave off. Showing how obvious she wants to get closer to him would end in a disastrous situation.

"Does it matter?"

She felt a vein throb.

"I'm just curious. Maybe we have the same interests!"

Without even giving her eye contact, Natsume stood up from his seat and walked away, dragging Ruka with him. "I don't have many interests. And if I do, it definitely doesn't have anything to do with a girl like you."

 _- **Four days after Ayami arrived** -_

"Would you like to eat lunch with me?" Ayami asked as she approached Natsume in the cafeteria. Natsume, who was joined by Ruka and his close friends, simply ignored her and shook his head.

"Hn."

"Aw c'mon just for one day—"

"Stop chasing after me, annoying."

Ayami boiled with fury inside. As she walked away to join her companion, Mayu, she couldn't help but overhear the conversation over at Natsume's table.

"I wonder what's Mikan doing right now. She's started school already right?" Anna said.

"Yeah, she probably made a load of friends."

"Somebody's still thinking about her—OW!" Ayami heard Kokoroyomi joke before spotting a tongue of fire appear on his hair.

 _What is Natsume's relationship with this Mikan...?_

Ayami quickly walked off and took her place next to Mayu who was already eating. Also together with Mayu was another classmate, Reika.

"Mayu-chan, do you know who 'Mikan' is?" She asked. Mayu glanced at Koyuki, uncertainty painted on her face.

"She was an old classmate who joined us around 5th grade and left a while back, she was really good friends with Hyuuga-kun and Nogi-kun."

"How close were they?"

"Very, very close. According to what we heard, Mikan-chan apparently changed Hyuuga-kun," Reika added on.

Ayami wanted her friends to continue, but they didn't seem willing to if she'd ask.

 _- **5 days after Ayami arrived** -_

Ayami continued to investigate about 'Mikan' and her relationship Natume. Yet the only responses she got were...

"Mikan-chan? I really miss her! I never really talked to her, but she was kind to everyone. Even Narumi-sensei misses her!"

'Oh how I miss her!'

'Mikan-chan is a great person!"

'Such a comedic girl!'

'She's made us all laugh!'

"ENOUGH!" Ayami screamed in frustration. "MIKAN THIS, MIKAN THAT! I'M ASKING FOR HER BACKSTORY AND RELATIONSHIP NOT YOUR LOVE LETTERS!"

Mayu and Reika removed their earplugs once their friend finished screaming.

"Why don't you just ask Natsume and his companions directly? All of them knew Mikan the best," Koyuki suggested blatantly. Ayami stared at Koyuki as if she was crazy.

"Excuse me? That would ruin my whole 'calm-and-rational-but-super-cute-and-nice' approach on him. He'll realize that I'm on to him."

"I think he already has," Mayu muttered.

"What was that?" Ayami snapped.

"Nothing."

Ayami groaned and began mentally reviewing her plan on how to get closer to Natsume and get info on 'Mikan'.

After class ended, students began to pack up and head back to the dormitories. Ayami didn't budge one bit and sat there in a daze.

"Hey Mayu, you said 'Mikan' left the school. Why did that happen?"

Mayu, who was sitting on the edge of Ayami's table, glanced at Ayami.

"She...lost her Alice."

"Hah?"

"I don't know the full story but everybody knows she had to leave school because her Alice's lifespan ended."

"Okay...how smart was she?"

"She was pretty dumb, actually."

Ayami upon hearing the statement, stood up and banged her hands on the table. "HAH?! And Natsume likes a girl like her?"

"Oi Ayami..."

"Honestly from all the feedback I get from others, she sounds so dumb and stupid!"

"Ayami stop..."

"Why do people admire a clown like her anyway? She sounds so useless! Natsume has such a bad sense of taste in girls!"

"Ayami!"

Just as Ayami was about to speak, her clamped her mouth when she realised everyone was staring at her.

Not in awe, not in agreement, but in fury and disgust.

What had she done? It was like the whole class was suddenly against her.

Ayami glanced at Natsume who was just about to exit the class. He wasn't giving her a blank ignoring face. She could see fire burning in his eyes. Eyes that looked like it wanted to kill.

"How dare you speak of Mikan like that! Take back your words!" Somebody screamed

"Do you even know her?"

Ayami was speechless at the reaction she got. She was scared, she was afraid. No one had ever turned against her before.

"Seriously! Are you trying to kill yourself? Come here!" Sumire barked and grabbed Ayami's hand, dragging her away from all the angry eyes.

*****[Too lazy to add a line]*****

Extra A/N: Thank you to all those who have reviewed my story (* ^v^ *) I am not the best writer or the most creative person but thanks to y'all who reviewed my story I will strive to do my best! YEH!

 **Replies:**

 **chewybillabong - Thanks and I will try my best!**

 **Wendy402 - OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH XD I'm really happy you are enjoying the story! And thanks for pointing out the error!**

 **cc - Hehe you'll see! ;]**

 **Animaddict - Thank you! Ooh who knows *wiggles eyebrows***


	8. The Story She Will Never Understand

**_A/N: Hello! I'm back from the dead! Aye I cringe at this chapter, sadly it failed to come out the way I wanted it to be :[ But I couldn't keep ya'll waiting any longer so taadaaa! Therefore if you have any ideas on how to improve this chapter, leave it in the review section and I will try my best to take your suggestion into consideration. This chapter was not looked over or checked by me, so it may contain lots of mistakes story wise. This chapter is like a partial summary of the main battle in GA, so please bear with it._**

 _ **Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support in by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

"Seriously!" Sumire sighed exasperatedly. "Are you trying to make enemies?"

Sumire dragged Ayami all the way to the garden, where the big cherry tree was located.

"Um...why am I here?" Ayami asked as they sat down on a bench.

"Listen here, you haven't been for a long time, so let me ask, what were you thinking when you began ranting about a precious classmate who we've lost and who you don't even know about? Are you stupid?"

"Why do you care anyway?" Ayami snapped at Sumire. The girl with the permed hair scoffed, still holding on to her pride. But Ayami saw her clenched fist slacken before she clenched them again, and her hard expression loosen as she stared at her feet.

"I was just like you once," Sumire confessed, shame written on her face. Her voice was so soft, so meek. "I used to admire Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun, seeking for their attention every single day and making sure nobody laid a hand on them."

"Then Mikan came along. She annoyed me so much because Natsume seemed to pay attention to her a lot. She was also stupid and even Natsume bullied her," She said bluntly.

Ayami glanced at Sumire upon hearing that Natsume bullied Mikan. "Eh but doesn't he—"

Sumire glared at Ayami for interrupting her, but continued anyway. "About Natsume, he was under dangerous ability. He was forced to work for this guy called Persona and was practically imprisoned. He was different from the rest of us; everyone in this academy is here because we're special—we are precious.

"Most of us are just here for protection, but Natsume was a weapon. His great abilities were constantly abused and misused by the ex-elementary principal. I don't know the full details, and I only learnt later on about Natsume's condition. Do you know his Alice shape?"

Ayami shook her head. And that was when she realized she knew so little about Natsume than she thought she did.

"It's Limited. You should know the characteristics of it."'

Powerful and can be used anytime with great strength, but in return takes a great toll on the body, Ayami recalled.

"Why did he continue if he knew his body would be damaged?" Ayami questioned.

"At first, he only worked for Persona and the Elementary Principal, or ESP, because his sister was being held hostage. Mikan helped free his sister. But thanks to that event, Mikan's 'stealing alice' was revealed and she became the next target of the ESP. Natsume by that time, was really thankful for Mikan, and developed feelings, seeing her as the 'Sun'. He only continued working for the ESP because Mikan became a target of the ESP due to her stealing alice, and he wanted to protect her."

"You know, I still don't see what's so great about Mikan," Ayami sighed.

"Of course. You will never understand how much Mikan meant to us because you weren't there!" Sumire snapped. "And trust me, before today, I would refuse to acknowledge Mikan. But now I am, and thats saying something."

Ayami remained silent, prompting Sumire to continue.

"Mikan, to describe her is beyond words. Before she arrived, the class was so disconnected. She came, and even once suggested to play dodge ball. We all thought is was stupid and rejected it,but Natsume went along with it, with the intent of humiliating her. We all teamed up against Mikan, and as we played, we couldn't say it wasn't fun. Even after Mikan inevitably lost, she was still smiling and having fun. After the game, thanks to it we forged new friendships and the class became more united."

"Mikan would always smile and she never gave up. She forgave people even when they hurt her and always saw the light...She annoyed me so, so, much. She pissed me off so much with her dumb happy-go-lucky attitude."

"I hated her. I wanted to hate her."

Ayami glanced up at Sumire who stopped halfway, only to catch a glimpse of Sumire wiping a tear. She felt extremely guilty for saying all those things even when she didn't know who Mikan really was.

"You know, although I can't say for sure, I'm pretty sure Natsume fell more deeply in love with Mikan every time she smiled." Sumire glanced at the sun that was setting in the horizon.

"What happened to her?" Ayami quietly asked.

"I don't know the full details, but during a battle against the ESP, Natsume decided to kill the principal all by himself, despite his body being in such a bad condition. He sacrificed his remaining power to kill the ESP and his life diminished."

Ayami held her breath after hearing what had happened.

"Mikan, who was kept captive and just managed to escape, arrived too late at Natsume's location, and she was distraught. She was so desperate to save him, that she even gave up her remaining Alice for him. The consequence was, she had to lose her memories and leave school." Nobody said a word after that. The atmosphere was solemn and somber.

"Anyway, Mikan isn't somebody who deserves somebody talking bad about her. Although she's dense like mercury and extremely clumsy, and not to mention she always calls me that dumb nickname," Sumire rambled on, and Ayami could not tell if she was on Mikan's side or not. "She has some sort of magic that can make you smile, and she's very forgiving and always tries her best in everything and to see the best in you."

Ayami could not help but notice how much Sumire beamed while talking about her friend. She scoffed and smirked. "So you're a tsundere eh?"

Sumire glared daggers at Ayami. "Whatever. Just don't talk bad about Mikan anymore, okay? Especially when everybody is sensitive about the issue. I can guarantee you that Natsume would turn away from you instead."

With a huff, Sumire turned and walked towards the dorm, leaving Ayami alone with her thoughts.

 _You messed up again Ayami, this is what you get._


	9. Ayami and His Answer

**_A/N:_** _Yey! New chapter! This will be the (second) last chapter with Ayami as one of the focus characters. There will be another author note at the end of this chapter, which will tell you more about the purpose of Ayami._

 **Note: If you spot any errors in spelling, references to the original story, etc, please do point it out and I will make changes as soon as possible. This helps improve it for everybody's enjoyment and the story quality overall. If you are enjoying my story, do support in by following and reviewing it! And now onto the story!**

* * *

Chapter 8

She glanced at her dresser that was filled with cosmetics and make up and such. As tempted as she was, Ayami decided that it was time for a change. Instead of slathering on all the possible face-prepping make up, she opted for just going for concealer. Instead of brushing on her usual subtly heavy eyeshadow, she chose to go with simple eyeliner, blush and a toned-down tinted lip balm. Her hairstyle was the same–well she never styled it so much in the first place, but Ayami decided to pin up her bangs to side.

With a deep breath, she adjusted her uniform one last time in the mirror and then exited her room. She kept her head down low, trying to avoid as much attention as possible. When she turned in to the corridor where Class B was located, Ayami began to feel even more nervous. Every single word Sumire had burned into her was on constant repeat in her head, and the more it did, the guiltier she felt.

Be sweet, be kind, and you'll earn their forgiveness, she chanted in her head. The more she said it in her head though, the more she began to feel something was wrong. She stopped right outside the door of Class B, and something was preventing her from taking another step. Ayami was frozen in her tracks, a nauseating feeling overwhelming her.

 _Something's wrong. Something's wrong._

Then a person brushed passed her. "Are you stupid? Trying to be like Mikan?" Sumire said softly but harshly. Her words hit Ayami like a Grandfather clock striking midnight.

 _'What's her problem?_ ' Ayami screamed internally. Her whole body shook, and tears were threatening to spill out. _I'm already so humiliated and guilty, and I'm trying to earn my place here yet you still are mocking me! Even when I'm trying so hard! Trying so hard to-_

"Eh?" She muttered out loud

 _Trying so hard_? She repeated in her head. Since when was she trying so hard to be someone she's not? Yeah sure she was acting all sweet and kind to Natsume, but at the end of the day, she's Ayami. The spoiled, bratty, Ayami Tonouchi. ' _Trying to be like Mikan?_ ' Sumire wasn't ridiculing her.

She was trying to tell Ayami to just be herself.

' _Stop trying to use the attitude of the person Class B misses to appeal to them._ '

Appearing to copy Mikan, appearing to try and take the place of Mikan, if anything would simply agitate her classmates even more.

 _"I am Ayami Tonouchi, the one and only Queen Ayami,"_ She said firmly to herself, her resolution strong.

 _And I will get whatever I want. Using my own power._

With her head held high, Ayami walked into the classroom without a sign of hesitation, with nothing but confidence.

Her classmates eyed her cautiously, their chatter reducing to whispers, but Ayami did not falter one bit. She walked over to her seat, dumped her bag on the table and marched back to the front of the class, not even giving one glance at Natsume, whom even peeked out from his manga for a split second, an eyebrow raised.

"Everyone! Oi!" Ayami yelled at the front of the class without much sophistication, earning their attention. All eyes stayed on her, and a pair of green eyes belonging to a somatic Alice user arched her eyebrow with expectation. Even Mayu and Reika were rather confused.

She took a deep and long breath. Her eyes glued to the ground as she grasped her skirt. "Everyone," she said loudly, her voice cracking. "I'm-I'm-"

 _Louder. Louder_.

"I'm sorry! " she yelled. Everyone held their breath. No one spoke. Ayami was shaking violently during the pregnant silence that followed.

"I'm sorry for saying such bad things about her..."

"I'm sorry for being obnoxious and fake, even though that's how I am naturally...But-but I would like it if we could get along for the rest of our time together!"

Silence. Pure silence. The girl at the front of the class still had her eyes down, still was clenching the material of her skirt tightly, her cheeks tinted heavily.

Then, when she least expected it, some of her classmates began giggling.

"Ayami-chan's a tsundere!"

"Kinda reminds me of Sumire!"

"What?!" Said girl screeched.

"So cute!"

The Raven head looked up, revealing her moist face and eyes that were tearing up. "What...?"

"We're also sorry for treating you as a threat," someone shouted, and others nodded in agreement.

"But it's nice to see you aren't really a bad person despite your annoying personality!"

"Let's get along Ayami-Chan!" The class chorused. And Ayami began to feel herself smile. She forgot that feeling. The feeling of smiling genuinely. No more flattery fake smiles. Yes the demanding attitude might stay, but at she decided that at least the words with them would be genuine.

Realising how mushy she was getting, Ayami quickly folded her arms and pouted. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I still don't like you guys," she said with a 'hmph'. The class laughed, even Ruka, Anna, Nonoko, Linchou all pursed their lips and smiled. Natsume of course remained completely uninterested.

In that moment, Narumi-sensei burst through the door. "Come everybody! Lesson's going to begin!"

When the bell finally rang at the last lesson, everyone quickly got up and proceeded to pack their belongings. One by one, they all left the classroom until only two people remained. Ayami and Natsume. The former was slowly packing her things, staying silent while the latter still had a manga over his face. The light of the the setting sun seeped through the window, a soft glow illuminating everything in the room.

"They're gonna come and lock up the classroom soon," Ayami said quietly, breaking the silence.

"Hn."

The girl chuckled inwardly. "Still the same as always, I see."

This time no reply came. Ayami let out a soft sigh as she swung her bag over one shoulder, moving out of her seat. She began walking towards the door while he still stayed in the same place, the silence between them louder than anything. Until-

"You know," Ayami began, stopping in her tracks. "I realise now that I never really loved you."

Silence.

"But I can't say I didn't have any feelings for you. Could we still be acquaintances?"

She heard him shift.

"I'll stop chasing you now. Sorry 'bout everything I did in the past month or so."

"...and thanks."

With that, she walked out of the room. Her satisfied smile really didn't match her sad eyes.

But from the corner of her eyes, she saw him smile ever so slightly.

And even if he didn't say anything, that was the answer she ever wanted.

 ** _A/N: That concludes chapter 8 :) Ayami was never intended to come between Natsume and Mikan, but more of a character meant to bring out Mikan's ever lingering significance and her impact in the Academy. She was also not intended to be a character to hate, but more of a character like Sumire (somewhat Sumire's inferior in terms of personality because Sumire's that girl who would never allow someone to be her equal XD) If it didn't then well lol my writing sucks. But I hope you enjoyed it! In the next chapter Ayami plays a smaller role and she will eventually become a side character and I will focus more on Natsume! (So hooray if you disliked Ayami (lol) )_**

 ** _Please note that I will not be posting the next chapter in a while as exams are upcoming. Most likely updating around May to June or even later. Sorry for the wait!_**


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